Steven Universe: Homeworld Rebellion
by freakofnatureproductions
Summary: On one awful night, a disaster rocks Homeworld to the core. Now the Diamonds must prevent the start of a new rebellion. The following fanfic is set in a divergent AU separate from the official Steven Universe cannon.
1. Prologue

Steven Universe: Homeworld Rebellion

Prologue

If there was one thing Yellow Diamond prioritised above all else, then it would be the constant need for new, more advanced technologies. New ways to conquer and destroy. It had been centuries since the war with the rebels and Homeworld were still licking it's wounds. Because of this, Yellow Diamond had ordered the Research and Development Corps lead by Blue Diamond to construct a new weapon for Homeworld, a flagship vessel that can be mobilized against the Crystal Gems or any threat to Homeworld's authority. Years were spent planning, experimenting and constructing until finally, Yellow Diamond's new weapon was complete. A new type of Warship, much sleeker, faster and considerably more powerful then the hand shaped Warships of old. The Trilliant, a stream lined, silver vessel shaped like a diamond was created. It had taken almost as long to build it as it had to design it, hence why Homeworld had spent a decade on the first ship. Now, it was ready for it's maiden flight.

The shipyards were nestled far away from Lustre City, the Gem capitol of Homeworld. It was built into the side of a deep canyon and was at least a mile long. The ground, walls and roof were all a uniform grey, the only colour in the room came from the huge open area where the loading ramp to the Trilliant was. The noon day sun hung high in the sky, casting a shadow inside the canyon. Gems were bustling around the place, busying themselves with their assignments. Blue Diamond's corps were busy inside the ship, Peridots were checking the various calibrations on the heavy weapons ship, Zircons were programming the flight computers and weapon systems along with the Blue Moissanites. Several Ruby and White Moissanite fusion squads were ready for the delicate task of loading the ship once the Science Corps had completed their work. This was overseen by a Black Moissanite, one of the highest ranking of the Diamond's Moissanites. She paced up and down the line of White Moissanites and Rubies. They all stood to attention.

"Now listen up, you lot. You're all responsible for loading the fuel and munitions onto the Trilliant one Blue Diamond's Gems have finished. It's a very important assignment. I can't stress enough that Homeworld's glory rests on the Gems here and I'm sure you don't want to answer to White Diamond if you mess it up, or Yellow Diamond, if your really unlucky. Am I understood?"

The Gems replied in one unified voice "Understood!"

"Right, quadruple Ruby fusion, form up! Triple Moissanite fusion, take form!"

As per her command, the groups of Gems began to fuse. The three White Moissanites called first jumped into the air and disappeared in a white glow. What landed was a six legged fusion with two pairs of arms which moved in a crab like way. The Rubies jumped onto each others shoulders and formed the large Ruby fusion. The fusions stood ready as the last of Blue Diamonds Gems left the Trilliant. On a raised platform on the side of the shipyard, a Dumortierite monitored her screens. The dark blue Gem, with short white hair and facial markings was, like the rest of her Gem type, a systems operator, a Gem that would reside in a glass tank and control various systems on Homeworld, a living Gem interface. She spoke, her voice projected across the shipyards via speakers.

"Research and Development Corps' assignment complete. Ruby and White Moissanite fusion squadrons are clear to proceed."

The Ruby fusion looked over the crates of fuel and munitions. The stacks were almost as large as they were. They turned to the Black Moissanite and asked "If this is just a performance trial, why are we loading so much?"

The Black Moissanite looked up to them, if her eyes were visible behind the dark visor with it's red eye moving from side to side, she'd have shot a deadly look at them. "Ours is not to question why, only to obey orders. So get loading!"

The crab like Moissanite fusion pushed the Ruby fusion along as they both took the first stack of fuel and walked slowly to the ramp leading to the ship.

"Rebels are bad enough, but the stupidity I have to deal with…." The Black Moissanite muttered to herself.

It wasn't long before night descended on Homeworld. The fusions were still loading, aided by strobe white lights dotted about the shipyards. Black Moissanite was glad to see the loading was nearly complete. The Peridots, Zircons and Blue Moissanites were busy on their screens, still working on the Trilliant from afar. No one really felt safe around all that potentially dangerous cargo. Black Moissanite watched, ever so slightly on edge.

"I'll be glad to see this over and done with."

She turned and instantly saluted. Behind her, Blue and White Diamond. They had come to check on the progress of the Trilliant.

"Well, how's it coming along?" White Diamond asked, her tone was never that of the other Diamonds, she was never so formal. Always to the point.

"Progress is running smoothly, my Diamond. At this rate, we will have the Trilliant ready to go first thing in the morning. Just as Yellow Diamond instructed."

White gave the Black Moissanite a tap on the back. "Good work. Now, don't stand on ceremony, Black. You get back to your work."

Black Moissanite thanked White Diamond and walked over to the fusions. There were only a few crates remaining. The two Diamonds looked over the sight before them.

"Ten years. Ten years to get from some scribbles and an after thought to here." White shook her head. "Amazing isn't it?" She sighed, looking to her sister. Blue Diamond was as straight faced as ever, but White knew that she felt proud, inside anyway. Blue watched the Ruby fusion return from the ship and move to the final stacks of munitions. She then turned to her sister and nodded. "It is indeed.

The Ruby fusion picked up the top crate and moved to the ship. The munitions container below it started to tilt, it had not been placed symmetrically with the others and without the crate on top to balance it, it was hanging precariously off the side. Suddenly it crashed to the ground and broke open, causing one of the explosives inside to spark. The spark brushed against the other crate and gave birth to a little flame. The flame began to grow. White Diamond, still observing the Trilliant, smelt something. She sniffed the air.

"Do you smell something?" She asked her sister. She turned around and almost did a double take. What she saw was a fire beginning to spread around the last two crates of munitions. "Fire!" She yelled. She looked up to the Moissanites and Zircons who had also just realised the impending danger. "Get clear, the whole things going to blow!" Before the other Gems could react, the munitions exploded. The Moissanites and Zircons were caught in the blast, sending shards of shattered Gem and munitions.

Immediately, the alarm sounded and the Dumortierite blared out from the speakers once again. "Emergency, emergency. Clear the area immediately."

The shards of burning debris landed onto the remaining fuel canisters. As the other Gems began to retreat, it wasn't long before they began to catch fire as well. Blue Diamond's arm hovered close to her mouth as she spoke into her wrist device. "Dumortierite, request reinforcements from Lustre City."

White pulled the Black Moissanite to one side. "Where are the fusions?" She asked, keeping one eye on the fire.

"They're still on the Trilliant, my Diamond!" she replied.

White let go of the Black Moissanite. "Get everyone to start fighting back the fire, we need to disconnect the connector bridge! The top priority is saving the Trilliant! Understood?"

"Understood!" Came the reply. She ran off, barking orders at the other Gems. White turned to Blue as she lowered her communicator.

"Reinforcements will be here soon, they are bringing Amethyst Prime and her best Quartz soldiers."

Before White could respond, there was a deafening explosion. The fuel canisters exploded with great force, shooting fire in all directions. A wall of fire was already starting to grow and spread across the shipyards. Flaming fuel had impacted against the walls and were already moving towards the Gems. There was another explosion. The platform where Dumortierite and her glass tank were housed had caught fire. White and Blue turned to the Gems behind them and White pointed to a Zircon, Peridot and a Blue Moissanite.

"Dumortierite's platform is about to go up, you three go and pull her out!"

The responded with a chorus of "Yes, my Diamond!" as they ran to assist. They approached the platform, but another explosion ripped past them, catching the Blue Moissanite and shattering her on the spot. Visibly shocked, the two Gems pushed forward, their Diamonds instructions running deep in their minds. They quickly climbed to the top of the platform and worked on opening the tank. As they did, another explosion rocked the base of the platform. The Diamonds and other Gems watched in horror as the platform toppled over and the three Gems fell to their deaths in a flurry of fire and Gem shards. As White Diamond watched, Blue's wrist device began to beep.

"Amethyst Prime is nearly here."

White turned to her sister and yelled "What good will they do now? We can't get the connector free, so we can't stop the fire from spreading to the Trilliant!"

Black Moissanite spoke up. "With the Quartz's help we might be able to disconnect it manually!"

The two Diamonds exchanged a look then turned back to the Moissanite. "It's worth a try! Get as many of the Gems to help as you can!"

It wasn't long before Amethyst Prime and a group of her Quartz soldiers arrived. They ran into the Shipyards to find it ablaze. A few Moissanites were trying to hold back the fire with foam extinguishers but they weren't having much affect. Amethyst Prime ran up to the Diamonds and saluted.

"Reporting as ordered!"

White looked up at the huge Quartz leader and pointed to the connector to the Trilliant.

"We need your Quartz soldiers to help get the Trilliant disconnected from the shipyards before the fires reach it!"

Amethyst Prime gave an understanding nod as she turned to her Gems and roared out orders.

"Agate! You, Onyx and Chalcedony get that connector severed! Aventurine, with me, we're gonna beat this fire back!"

The three muscular Quartz warriors ran over to the connector, where a group of Zircons and Peridots had fused in an attempt to try and tackle the heavy loads. They ran up to the sides of the connector alongside the fusions, wrapped their huge hands around it and the group attempted to lift. The weight of it was immense, not something easily lifted.

Meanwhile the other Gems had failed to hold back the spread of the fire, but continued to try none the less. One Moissanite was hit by an explosion and sent flying, being shattered in the process. The Black Moissanite grabbed the fallen Gem's extinguisher and called out.

"Keep going everyone! Stop the spread….." Before she could continue, she too was caught by an explosion. Her shattered shards fell at the feet of the Diamonds. White was becoming increasingly irate.

"There must be something we can do, we can fuse, we'll be able to make a difference instead of just standing around, doing nothing!" She took a step forward but found herself held back by her sister. "Let go of me! We've got to help them! If we can't help then what's the point of…."

Blue interrupted. "You are more important, White. More important then the Trilliant or those Gems, not just to Yellow Diamond, but to me. You are not going to risk your life like that." White wanted to respond to that, wanted to tell Blue Diamond she was wrong and that it was her responsibility. But at the same time, she knew it to be true. She didn't want to risk Blue's safety in some foolhardy death or glory charge. "We can rebuild the Trilliant, create more Gems. But there's only one of you."

White gave a defeated look as she took Blue's hand. Without the need to say anything, the two understood each other perfectly.

Amethyst Prime shielded her eyes from another explosion. She turned to the Quartz and fusions working on the connector. "It's no good! We can't stop the fire from spreading, get outa there!"

Grunting as they tried to lift the heavy gangway, Agate shouted back. "We've…Nearly got it!" True to her word, they began to slowly lift the connector. Amethyst Prime growled. "Fall back you idiots! Do you wanna get shattered!?" She jumped as another explosion rocked the shipyard. "Fall back!" She yelled as Aventurine and herself along with the remaining Gems fighting the fire ran back to the Diamonds side.

"What about the others?" White asked. Amethyst Prime was panting. "No such luck."

The group of Gems shook as they lifted the connector and began to tear it away from it's moorings. "Hah! We're doing it!" Agate looked to the shipyard and her eyes widened, she could see the wall of fire heading towards them. "Drop it, we gotta get out of here….!"

But it was too late, the fire shot up the connector and crawled into the ship. The Gems couldn't react before the Gem inside one of the Peridot fusions hands began to melt, causing the fusion to flicker and scream. Suddenly the fusion itself caught fire, resulting in the Peridots shattering. The other Gems immediately caught fire. The Zircon fusion tried to stop the fire crawling up itself but failed, poofing after a short, agonising scream. The Quartz dropped the connector. Without seeing where they were going, they staggered back. With a short yelp, they fell into the canyon below, to their deaths.

White watched with horror as the events unfolded. "We're too late…."

There was a second of nothingness, then the first fireball shot out of the Trilliant. "The fire's reached the engines….." White muttered.

A series of explosions and fireballs burst from the alloy hull of the ship, knocking it from side to side as the sound of creaking burst from the ship. The final explosions tore the ship apart. It was as if it were a flurry of fireworks emerged from the ship, bursting through and sending fire high into the sky. Amethyst Prime, Aventurine and the last few Gems took several steps back as the Diamonds watched. With a sickening sigh and a final explosion, the dead husk of the Trilliant ripped free of it's moorings and sank into the canyon. White was sure she could hear the screams of the two fusions inside. There was a muffled explosion as the ship crashed on the floor of the canyon.

With nothing left to burn, the fires died down and simmered gently, posing no threat anymore. Aventurine looked around the destruction of the shipyard. "Just look at the state of this place…."

Amethyst Prime replied in a hushed, respective tone. "Yeah but it could have been worse. If the Gems who died here didn't give their lives to stop it, we could have all died. Well done, all of you."

White knelt down and picked up a shard of the Black Moissanite's Gem. "There'll be a full inquiry into what happened here. Yellow Diamond will suspect foul play. I'm afraid it's the Sphene's for us all. Good luck everyone. Get yourselves some rest, okay?"

The other Gems nodded and quietly walked off. Blue knelt next to White. "There was nothing you could have done." White clenched the shard in her hand as she got up to her feet. She looked around at the destruction one last time before marching off, never wanting to see the devastation again.

But the work had only just begun.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter One

Twelve Rubies, ten Moissanites, eight Zircons, six Peridots, two Dumortierite operators, Agate, Onyx and Chalcedony. Forty one casualties plus the destruction of the Trilliant and major damage to the Homeworld Shipyards. A setback that will take decades to put right. Yellow Diamond stared at the figures on her data pad. This was hardly the worst loss for Homeworld. They'd lost more Gems in the Spinel experiments, to say nothing of the war casualties. But this disaster struck the lead Diamond to the core, she hadn't felt this affected since the Duel Of The Long Night during the war. She continued reading and re reading the figures, over and over again. Her room was dark, with just one golden light providing illumination. It was hard for her to take in, hard to believe that this could be foul play. There was no other explanation for it. A super weapon, newly constructed, ready to be launched, destroyed. Could it be an accident? Possibly. But the probability that this was planned was even more apparent. It was time to get to the bottom of this. Time to bring out Heliodor and her people. She deactivated the pad and placed it on her desk. She walked to the door and left her dark accommodations.

The doors slid open with a hiss, revealing the two waiting figures outside Yellow Diamond's accommodations. They were her Pearl, looking refined and resplendent as usual, and Heliodor, the Diamond's assistant, right hand Gem and head of the Retinue. The trio of Gems that stood beside the Diamonds on the Authority. To say Heliodor was pompous would be an understatement. She dressed in robes of gold and brown, the badge of the Homeworld lawmakers around her neck, a golden medallion caked in precious metals. She was golden skinned with jet black eyes, two pale facial markings ran down her cheeks below her eyes. Neatly kept blonde hair topped her head, swept back off her brow, while locks hung down by her chin. The only thing that obstructed her artificial beauty was a small chunk missing from her lip, an unfortunate encounter with a bitter Heliodor who met a swift end. Her Gem, a sough after target for shattering, sat in a golden head dress in the centre of her forehead. As head of the Sphene Interrogator Guild, head of the Diamond Retinue and leader of the lawmakers of Homeworld, Heliodor was more then a little power hungry to say the least. To get to the highest position in the land, to stand beside Yellow Diamond and rule in her absence, she had to bribe, murder, steal, frame and intimidate herself up the food chain. Most of Homeworld hated her, and that didn't bother her in the slightest, on the contrary, she rather enjoyed it, not as much as being at Yellow Diamond's side though.

Both Heliodor and the Pearl bowed as their Diamond appeared, and walked straight past them. Realising this, the two Gems followed post haste to catch up with her. Heliodor began updating her Diamond on her people's progress.

"The Sphene's have begun interrogating the survivors, my Diamond. So far they have only spoken to Moissanites, Zircons and Peridots. The initial reports reveal very little. We will start on the remaining Gems

as soon as possible. I take it I have your permission to proceed?"

Yellow Diamond didn't respond. Heliodor assumed she meant yes and continued.

"We have sent a summon notice, the Authority are assembling in the Throne Room." She gestured to the Pearl who handed a data pad to Heliodor. She spoke up.

"Here is your statement to the public, my Diamond."

Yellow Diamond skimmed through the speech, fairly drab, nothing she hadn't already said one thousand times in the past. She handed the pad back to Heliodor who, in turn, passed it to Pearl. After the long silence, Yellow addressed her two aids.

"What do you two think?"

The aids nearly stopped dead in their tracks. Yellow Diamond was asking them? It was a particular shock to the Yellow Pearl who was so used to standing around and looking pretty, while taking care of her Diamond's administration duties, was never expected to give her opinion on anything. She'd hoped this would be the last time Yellow Diamond asked an opinion of her, she felt ever so nervous on the spot. She hoped Heliodor would speak first, and to her relief, she did.

"My Diamond?" Heliodor replied with a raised eyebrow.

Yellow stopped walking and turned to them. "Who has the most to gain from destroying the Trilliant?"

"Why are you asking us, my Diamond? Surely this is a question for the Authority."

Yellow Diamond crossed her arms and looked out of one of the many stain glass windows in the corridors of the Palace, specifically the yellow tinted one. "If someone is intent on making our losses their gain, then I want to find out who. I can't be sure that person is not on the Authority. Peridotite, she could be whispering lies to her green spawns, there were enough Peridots there at the shipyard. Aegirine, she and her forgers supplied the metal for the ship, they could have slipped anything in there. Carnelian, she'd do anything to get more power and status. Amethyst Prime and Black Moissanite Prime, unlikely but still possible. Then of course, the culprit may not be in the Authority. Any number of those forty one shattered Gems may have been a traitor."

Heliodor thought for a moment. She didn't particularly need to frame anyone, no one was really a threat to her at the moment so she didn't need to lie. She answered truthfully. "I wish I could offer some lead, my Diamond. I have complete faith the Sphene's will find a lead."

Yellow gave a half nod as she turned to the small, fragile assistant. "Pearl?"

Pearl immediately blushed, her face turned golden. "If I may be so bold, my Diamond, I don't believe one of the Authority is behind this. It would be too easy to guess and….." She began to fumble on her words. Oh, she hated this. "Well, they must know they'll be the easy suspects, so why risk being found out when you're such an easy target? B….Besides, they wouldn't dare risk loosing their status or being shattered."

Yellow looked at Pearl with an intrigued expression. "Yes….." She turned on her heels and continued to walk. Heliodor's shoulders lowered as she relaxed, Pearl would have let out an audible sigh, if she hadn't reeled herself back in.

Outside the throne room, the other two Diamonds were waiting. White Diamond leant against the wall, her arms crossed and her head looking down. She was counting the white, yellow and blue tiles on the floor while they waited. After a yawn, she chuckled to herself. Blue turned and raised a curious eyebrow. She was standing upright, straight and proper, as oppose to her slouching sister.

"There are more white tiles then yellow on this floor. Wonder what that said about the designers? They must prefer me." She joked with a playful tone. Of course Blue chose not to respond. White's head shot up when she saw her sister approach. She straightened up her posture, flicked some of the white locks from her face and pulled down on the neck of her form fitting silver and white suit. She stood by her sisters side as the doors to the Throne Room flung open.

The Authority were already assembled in the huge meeting place, tiled with the same yellow, white and blue flooring as the hallways, the three thrones were perched on a plinth and behind it, a huge stain glass window, with yellow, blue and white glass running down and meeting the ground where the corresponding Diamonds sat. The Throne Room's high roof let the late afternoon sun in, bathing everything in the Diamonds colours. The Authority, made up of the three Diamonds, their assistants, aka the Diamond Retinue, the six Gems deemed of high enough responsibility and status to stand before the Diamonds. The six Gems stood at either side of the room, on one side were the age old Gems who have been around almost as long as the Diamonds. They were Nacre, the matron of the Pearls, Peridotite, matron of the Peridots and Aegirine, the weapons forger who crafted the weapons of many a famous Gem, including the Diamonds and continued to forge weapons for Gems, even after all these millennia. Excluding the Diamonds, the three non combinative Gems were the oldest Gems in the Authority with Aegirine being created shortly after the five original Diamonds.

The Forger Prime didn't look her age, even by Gem standards, she was ancient. Her skin, eyes and hair were a uniform raven black with a fringe hanging from the left hand side of her face and her long, tidy bangs resting on her shoulders. Her eyes had cat like slits for irises and a light scar ran across her cheek. Her Gem was, like Heliodor, on her forehead, encased in a head dress, though Aegirine had chosen a simple silver band to contain her Gem. She wore simple robes of grey and black, with a belt and an empty scabbard hanging from it. In public and in the company of the other Aegirine Forgers, she wore a calm and unrevealing expression. She stood with her hands behind her back as they awaited the arrival of the Diamonds.

To describe Peridotite as anything less then matronly just wouldn't be true. She had helped turn every Peridot that had ever crawled out of a hole in the ground, from the very first, frightened little pale green Gem, to the latest in a long line of scientific servants to Yellow and Blue Diamond. Like her Peridots, she was pale green, with a small upturned nose and a pointy chin. But that's when the similarities end. Unlike the standard Peridot, she wore no visor, instead, she wore a dark green head dress that kept her hair hidden and reached down to her neck. Her robes were also dark green and brown, with long sleeves and a skirt that reached the floor. The robes had brown markings running up it's centre and sleeves, a stylish choice to remind herself of her origins, of Brown Diamond. With her Gemstone placed in her palm, she is often seen with her hands held together infront of her.

The last of the trio of ancient Gems was Nacre, mother of Pearls. Like Peridotite, she mothered the first Pearls and has done so for the millennia she's been on Homeworld. Like Peridotite, she had to become accustomed to a new way of thinking, having to teach her Pearls and Peridotite's Gems this was difficult at first, but one gets accustomed to it after thousands of years. Nacre was a tall Gem, the tallest of the three. Much like the typical Pearl, she was pale skinned and slender, with light blue eyes. Her hair was formed in a sensible rounded bob cut, her iridescent hair appeared silver in the darkness, but when exposed to certain light, created a light hint of rainbow colours, much like oil on water. She wore a teal coloured top and matching dark pink coloured bolero shrug top and skirt. Her shimmering Gem rested in a golden ring in the centre of her forehead.

On the opposite side of the Throne Room, the other three Gems, the younger Gems, born into Yellow Diamond's rule. Carnelian, head of the distribution of resources on Homeworld, Black Moissanite Prime, the stoic leader of the millions of Moissanite soldiers in White Diamond's army, plus her own Black Moissanites, the elite militia under her command and finally, Amethyst Prime, leader of the Quartz, and unshaken from the Trilliant disaster.

In human terms, Carnelian would be a banker, the worst type of banker too, the kind that enjoys their wealth while people around them suffer. That is Carnelian. As head of the distribution of wealth on Homeworld, she makes sure that the low level Gems stay under the thumb by siphoning off their resources and redirecting them to help the Authority. For example, a small settlement of Gem bystanders was once levelled to the ground to make way for a new Kindergarten. She revelled in the power and status she gained, keeping her hands clean and her corrupt consciousness clean. While the other Gems in the Authority dressed modestly, Carnelian's dress sense was over the top by comparison. She wore an ornate red dress to match her dark red skin and red eyes with no iris or pupil inside. Her dress, complete with black, leather gloves and cape held to her neck by a small collar with a jewel in it's centre, was decorated with black feathers that formed a second skirt around it. Her hair was a mix of black and red thin, dreadlock-like strands and on her head sat a jewelled tiara. Of course the jewels were not legitimate Gems, she wouldn't stoop to wearing her "subjects", they were fake. Fake, much like her self confidence and pride. For all the Gems smug arrogance, she was easily the most pathetic Gem on the Authority. She is a non combat Gem, much like the other three, but she had no weapon to summon unlike Nacre and Peridotite. She had never held a Gem Destabilizer in her life. To make matters worse, her memory was absolutely appalling,she wouldn't remember who she just spoke to if it wasn't for her Red Pearl who was constantly by her side, acting as her mistresses personal memorizer.

Black Moissanite Prime was almost indistinguishable from the Black Moissanites under her control. The same tetrahedron shaped helmet with it's one red eye moving from left to right and back again sat atop her head and obscured her eyes, leaving only her mouth exposed. What set her apart from the other Black Moissanites was that she wore a black cloak that reached to the floor and her uniform, a sleeved, black and grey version of the standard garb worn by your average Peridot or Jasper, had no Diamond symbols on it. As a member of the Authority, none of the Gems wore Diamonds on their outfits. Black Moissanite Prime herself was the ideal leader for the Diamonds to control. Obedient and an effective commander, but she also possessed a self confidence in her abilities that made her unafraid to speak up, or to suggest something outlandish which has lead to many small victories.

Amethyst Prime, a huge, bulking Gem, was just plain cocky. Sure she obeyed the Diamonds in all things but as leader of the Quartz, she possessed the cocksure attitude of all the death or glory Quartz's in the Diamond's army, all bundled up into one buff, purple and white package. Her hair was messy and full, reaching down to her waist. She wore a plain but practical outfit of a grey bodysuit with fingerless gloves, white thigh combat boots and padded shoulder armour with a circular belt. Under the high collar and above the v shaped armour that crossed her chest was her deep purple Gem. She had been spending the last few hours trying to recall all the events of the Trilliant incident she observed, so as to hopefully avoid an encounter with Yellow Diamond and Heliodor's Sphene interrogators.

The three Diamonds sat in their thrones, with their aids stood next to them. The members of the Authority descended onto one knee and gave the customary salute. With a small gesture from Yellow Diamond, they rose.

"I want the facts. What do we know?" Yellow's tone was as stoic as her expression, which if looks could kill, would massacre the whole Authority. Black Moissanite Prime stepped forward.

"We believe the fire was started when a munitions crate fell on top of a fuel canister my Diamond. Though the cause has yet to be discovered, we believe….."

"Facts, Prime." Yellow interrupted, causing the soldier to stumble.

"Y….Yes my Diamond." She produced a data cube from her uniform's belt and held it out as it created a square screen. The cube floated in the air and looped various read outs.

"The security cameras were destroyed or short circuited in the fire, less an act of sabotage and more an all round systems failure. The shipyards are already being repaired but it will take….."

"We don't need reminding." Came White Diamond's reply.

"Truth be told, my Diamonds, we have very little in the way of facts. We don't have much in the way of evidence. We are all hoping the Sphene interrogations reveal something."

Yellow sighed as she leant on her hand as she leant on her throne's arm.

"If I may, my Diamond?" Nacre spoke up. When Yellow gave a nod of approval, she stepped up. She could feel the hateful, probing gazes from Heliodor, Amethyst Prime, Carnelian and Black Moissanite Prime. She had heard it all before, how she, Aegirine and Peridotite were not to be trusted or weren't deserving to be on the Authority. She paid them little heed. They were young, inexperienced Gems who gained their positions through backstabbing, trichinous means, whereas the trio of ancient Gems were bestowed their status at birth, something the others were jealous of. To be gifted with responsibility at birth they were envied, where as the ancient trio were envious of the younger Gems, who could only dream of the responsibilities they had on their shoulders, as matrons and forgers.

Nacre spoke with no sign of intimidation from the Diamonds. "We must proceed with caution. Regardless of the culprit, if there even is a culprit, Homeworld will already be speaking of this. If we don't find out who is responsible, fingers will be pointed and blame will be thrown to someone."

Yellow gave a small nod as she thought through her options.

"What would you recommend?"

This angered the younger Gems, the old matron was doing them out of a job. How dare she think herself important enough to stand before the Diamonds?

"I would suggest you make a public address to put their minds at rest. Assure them that the destruction of the Trilliant is a minor setback, that our Empire remains as powerful as ever and that it won't affect the day to day operations on Homeworld. With any luck, that should silence the doubts in the public's mind, long enough for us to get to the bottom of this."

She was cut off by Carnelian. The interruption broke Yellow from her deep thought.

"Who's we? All you do is look after your little Pearls while we do the real work! Besides, how are you so sure the destruction of the….The…."

She snapped her fingers and tapped her Pearl in the chest.

"The thingy…"

"The Trilliant?" Her Red Pearl asked.

"Yes, that one. How are you so sure the Trilliant won't cause an uproar? There's already been a gradual decline of resource stocks since the ships destruction. You can wrap it up and make it look like there's nothing wrong, Nacre, but it will affect us all!"

Nacre remained silent, she still had her back turned to Carnelian. The only movement she made was to flick some hair from her face. Yellow Diamond was not impressed.

"Interrupt Nacre again Carnelian, and I will have you removed from the Throne Room."

If Carnelian wasn't already blood red, she'd be blushing and if she had pupils instead of her soulless red, featureless eyes, she'd be looking at the ground.

"Apologies, my Diamond."

Peridotite was honestly trying not to smile at the sight of such a proud Gem like Carnelian put in her place.

"Your plan is sound, Nacre. What does the rest of the Authority think? Peridotite, Aegirine?"

"I believe it will assist in the long run, best to reassure the public after all." Peridotite responded.

"My views are the same as Matron Peridotite." Aegirine added.

Yellow turned to the other side of the Throne Room. "You've been quiet Amethyst Prime, do you have anything to add?"

There was a reason why the soldier had remained silent. "To be honest, my Diamond, I'm just a soldier. I leave the politics to Gems who know what they're talking about. Whatever you decide, you know you'll have the full support of me and the Quartz."

Yellow's eyebrows raised. "I see. Good to know, Prime." She turned to Black Moissanite Prime and Carnelian.

"We don't need to hear from you Carnelian. Black Moissanite Prime?"

The black Gem stood to attention. "I too support whatever decision you make, my Diamond."

White turned to Blue Diamond and leant over. "When did the Authority become a group of yes Gems?"

Yellow leant back and looked up to Heliodor.

"I will return to my quarters and prepare a statement. Heliodor, you tell the Sphene's to continue as planned. Keep the Yellow Moissanites patrolling the city, tell them to report even the slightest whisper of decent. "

Heliodor's head bowed as she replied with the customary "Yes my Diamond."

Blue Diamond turned to her aid, Eudialyte. "We will continue running the simulations as planned. Inform the Peridots and Zircons they will be working overtime on this." Eudialyte gave a silent bow.

White put her hand on the small Kimberlite's shoulder. "I want you to spend some time with the soldiers. Get a feel for the mood of the little people. You okay with that?" Kimberlite replied with a smile. "Of course you are." White returned the smile and gave her aid a pat on the back.

The three Diamonds rose from their seats. "This meeting is adjourned. You all have places to be." Flanked by their aids, the Diamonds made their way down the steps of the thrones and out of the Throne Room. Shortly after they left, Amethyst Prime promptly headed out. Carnelian watched closely.

"Where's Purple Prime off to in such a hurry?" Black Moissanite passed her on her way out of the Throne Room.

"We all have to be somewhere Carnelian."

Not long after the meeting, Amethyst Prime had made her way to the wing of the Palace occupied by the Heliodor's and the Sphene's. It was a bare place, a thin corridor with dull, metal doors and seats for waiting Gems.. Small, yellow lights were placed above each door and they were all glowing, indicating interrogations were in progress. As the doors to the intimidating wing of the palace flung open, Amethyst Prime was surprised to see she was not alone. Sat on the bench with her head hung low was Aventurine, the same Gem who survived the Trilliant incident. She approached the Gem soldier and stood close to her side. She cleared her throat as the green Gem looked up and immediately shot up to her feet, saluting.

"Prime, I'm sorry I wasn't paying attention."

Amethyst Prime just stared at Aventurine.

"You afraid?" She asked as she looked into the green soldiers eyes. She was not exactly showing the cold, relentless, merciless tendencies she expected from her Quartz soldiers. "Why would you be afraid?"

Aventurine swallowed hard. "Well…." She didn't get a chance to finish before Amethyst Prime continued.

"If you got nothing to hide then you shouldn't be feeling nervous. You're practically shaking. So what are you hiding?"

She pinned Aventurine against the wall and stared her down.

"I'm not hiding anything!"

Amethyst Prime stared deeper into Aventurine's eyes.

"I lost my Agate Major and my Chalcedony Minor. My two subordinates died in the Trilliant incident. That just leaves me left, and once I'm out of the way, it's all the glory in the world for Aventurine Prime isn't it? Isn't it!" She yelled, covering her soldier in spit.

Before Aventurine could respond, one of the doors to the interrogation cells flung open and a figure emerged.

"Aventurine, we are ready for you."

The green Gem was all too happy to get away from her superior. She practically sprinted into the room. Of course as soon as she entered the cell, she immediately wanted to get out again. The cell was small, with just a table and a chair on either side. Strobe lighting came from the floor which cast shadows on the two Gems that were occupying the room. A Heliodor, who looked similar to Yellow Diamonds Heliodor Prime save for the medallion and her shorter hair, and the fact that her Gem was on her neck, sat on one side of the table. Behind her, a Sphene Interrogator. The Sphenes had a reputation on Homeworld, you did not want to ever have to meet one, and if you did, Goddess have mercy on you. With their golden skin, hair and eyes, they wore black uniforms with golden embroidery covering their chests and hung on their backs were their weapons, scythes which have been detracted into small poles, ready to be extended into their weapons at a moments notice. What made them so intimidating and so effective as interrogators was the fact that they were psychic. Through tactile contact, they could connect with their victims minds and search out the truth, then report to their Heliodor. Aventurine was weighing her options, and she felt like Agate and Chalcedony got off easy, being shattered.

"Aventurine Facet 12-B9-H Cut 2XY, created Facet seventy two, ocean colony four." The Heliodor stated as she flicked through the data readout on the table.

The warrior Gem sat down, keeping her eyes fixed on the Sphene leaning against the wall.

"That's correct."

The Heliodor deactivated the data readout and crossed her arms.

"This shouldn't take long. Sphene will probe into your memory and recall your experience in the Trilliant incident."

Aventurine clenched her fists nervously, sweat dripping from her forehead.

"I…..I understand." She replied, her voice breaking.

The Heliodor gestured the Sphene who approached the green warrior.

"Try and relax my dear." Sphene instructed, her voice having a certain theatrical flair that unnerved Aventurine.

The green Gem felt herself jump out of her own Gem when she felt the cold, sharp sensation of the Sphene's hand on her head. The interrogator closed her eyes as she began to form the connection. Aventurine firmed up as the Sphene opened her eyes. Having made contact, the Sphene's eyes glazed over, all white. Aventurine felt the Sphene inside her mind, probing past repressed memories and programmed skills and powers. It felt like the Sphene was actually digging through the memories, picking them up and throwing them aside, until she reached the Trilliant disaster. Immediately, all the fears came flooding back in one painful punch to the gut. The intense flames, the sight of her superiors, Agate, Chalcedony, being consumed by fire. All these experiences, these memories, these feelings, were all being transferred to the Sphene who continued to probe deeper. It was causing the golden interrogator physical and mental pain in probing so deep into Aventurine's mind, but she kept going deeper and deeper. Both Gems felt like their heads were about to split open. After a short scream from both of them, the Sphene staggered back, her eyes returning to normal. She looked to the Heliodor and shook her head. Aventurine on the other hand was grasping her head and panting, her eyes full of tears.

"Thank you for your time, Aventurine."

She looked up at the Heliodor with hopeful eyes. "You mean I can go?" As soon as Heliodor nodded, she rose from her seat, feeling light headed and shaky. "Thank you…." She didn't waste any time getting to the door. The Sphene regained her composure by straightening out her uniform and returning to her Heliodor's side.

"Amethyst Prime." She called out.

Outside, the two Quartz Gems passed each other. Aventurine looked down, not wanting to face her superior who was giving her a stare of death. As Amethyst Prime entered the cell, Aventurine leant against the wall and breathed deep. She remained fixed in her position for a good few seconds before her head shot up, hearing a crashing noise from Amethyst Prime's cell and muffled shouting from the Heliodor and Sphene.

"Hold her down!"

"Get out of my head freak!"

"Prime, calm down!"

"Don't touch me!"

"Hold her down for Goddess' sake!"

"I'm holding her down!"

"Probe her, probe her!"

"I am probing her!"

After more loud smashing, there was a lull and a moment of silence. The Sphene spoke up first.

"But why would you….?"

"Shut up!" Amethyst Prime replied. "So am I free to go, or what?"

After a few seconds, the door to the cell flung open and snapped off it's hinges thanks to the Quartz leader's strength. She stomped past Aventurine without even looking at her, muttering her instruction.

"Never speak of this again."

Aventurine looked into the cell as a bruised Heliodor was being helped up by the Sphene. The table was split in half with the Sphene's scythe sticking out from it.

"That…..Could have gone better." The Sphene lamented.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Two

Zigzag, you always zigzag when your running in battle. Aventurine repeated the words over and over again in her mind as she clutched hold of her Destabilizer Rifle in one hand and her hand held shield in the other. Around her, a trio of Jaspers, a Smoky Quartz and their group leader, Vermarine, all making a charge. Laser bolts were raining down from the sky, hitting the ground around them. Aventurine held up her small shield as one of the crackling, golden bolts of disruptor energy struck the shield with an impact that knocked her off balance. With her shield still held above her, she gripped her Disruptor Rifle tight and fired off some shots in response. The half dozen Gems slid behind a small wall.

"Flash grenades!" The Vermarine lead called out as the group all dug into their utility belts, taking out small, spherical grenades. They twisted the top half of the grenades as it began to flash red. They all threw the explosives over the side of the wall.

The explosion caused a crackling, ear ringing sound which caused Aventurine to grip her ears. After a few seconds, she saw the other five were already charging over the wall and followed behind them. They all charged up a walkway and reached their objective, a yellow flag atop a raised platform. Vermarine grabbed the flag and held it above her head.

"Training complete. Results, 87 percent effective." The voice of the Dumortierite operator rang out. There were some disgruntled moans from the other Quartz.

White Diamond watched from the viewing level and called down to the half dozen soldiers below her. "Your slipping. I expect 100% from you. If you got dead weight, loose it. Understood?"

"Yes, my Diamond!" Came the reply.

White walked down the steps of the observation level as the Quartz soldiers left the training room, with the exception of one. Aventurine was left alone in the training room, slouched over one of the raised barriers. White walked down the steps, hopping over the small streams of water providing obstacles for the training gems. Aventurine realised the Diamond was approaching and straightened up, saluting.

"My Diamond." She began, White held a hand up to cut her off.

"No need to stand on attention."

Aventurine still stood rigid and straight.

"How are you doing?"

White Diamond's interest in Aventurine concerned her. Clearly this was some kind of test. White Diamond was merciless and cold and unmoving. Why would she even care?

"I'll perform better, my Diamond. I promise you I'll..."

White interrupted, trying her best to look unthreatening. As the only other Quartz survivor of the Trilliant disaster, she was still shaken and the interrogation by the Sphenes didn t help.

"Why are you still afraid? You think because you've seen some pretty horrific stuff, it s made you incapable of being an effective soldier. Is that right?"

Aventurine didn't answer, but White knew what she would have said.

"Look, I've seen many Gems full of bravado run into battle full of self importance. Those Gems die pretty quickly. They think they re the best in the land and are untouchable. Next thing they know, a Crystal Gem s speared them in the back. I've seen what Amethyst Prime's said about you. You're not one of those Gems. That s why I think you ll go far. You actually use your mind, not your muscle."

She looked over Aventurine, she was considerably scrawnier then the average Quartz, she didn't quite come out right.

"Well, what muscle you may have anyway. Fighting with the grunts and the clod thick soldiers is not for you."

The green warrior was so taken aback by all this. She remained silent, lost for word.

"Which is why I've put in a recommendation to promote you to Minor Quartz leader. You d be much better suited with the thinkers, not the doers."

The warrior began to stammer.

"I...Thank you, White Diamond. Thank you so much. But Am I really the right Gem?"

White just responded with a nod.

"You go get rested up. I ll have you summoned when the high ups make their decision."

She was about to turn on her heels when she remembered something and turned to Aventurine.

"Where's Amethyst Prime? She was supposed to be here."

The poor green Gem was still lost in thought when White asked her. She snapped herself out of it pretty quickly though.

"I'm not sure, my Diamond. I've not seen her since her interrogation by the Sphenes."

A few hours had passed when Eudialyte agreed to go to the Prime Quartz's quarters. The Diamonds were already neck deep in work, Heliodor was reviewing evidence with the Sphenes and Kimberlite was among the soldiers. That just left the pink scientist Gem. She tugged nervously at the collar of her roll neck as she rang the chimes on Prime's door. There was no sound. She rang again. No sound. After a few seconds, she rolled up her sleeve and held out her wrist device.

"Over ride door locks." She spoke into it as the device beeped.

The doors slid open and Eudialyte peered inside. What she saw made the eyes behind her goggles widen. In the dingy, dark chambers, Amethyst Prime was bent over with a syringe in one hand and the other hand placed on her Gem. She watched as the syringe, full of metallic liquid dug into her Gem and the liquid was slowly pushed in. The Prime Gem's head shot up as she dropped the syringe and turned to Eudialyte. As the two locked eyes, the pink Gem tried to slowly move away, but Amethyst Prime rushed to her feet and dashed over, grabbing Eudialyte by the arm and throwing her inside her room, sending her to the ground with a painful thump.

"What in Goddess' name do you think your doing!?" Eudialyte yelled from the floor.

Amethyst Prime slammed her open hand over the door controls, resulting in them slamming shut.

"Stay out of this!" She barked back. Eudialyte scrambled to her feet, staring at the syringe.

"You better not be doing what I think your doing, Prime."

"And what if I am?" The purple Gem replied as she walked over one of the devices, shattering it under foot.

"Raw carbon injected into your Gem is highly dangerous, Goddess only knows how weak and brittle that thing must be now."

The commander stomped up to Eudialyte, dwarfing the scientist by about three feet.

"If I wanted your opinion, I'd ask for it!"

With a grunt, she used the back of her hand to strike Eudialyte, sending her crashing into the Prime s desk. She picked up Eudialyte by the collar of her pink roll neck and yanked the zip down, revealing her covered Gem, the pink and black Gem had a crack through it.

"Besides, your not one to talk."

Eudialyte pushed away from Amethyst Prime. She zipped up her roll neck.

"You forget your place. You may be Prime of the Quartz division, and while you have a seat at the Authority, I will always be your superior. Why? Because I stand in the Retinue next to my Diamond and in her absence I am in charge!" Her eyes narrowed. "You hate the very idea of that don t you?"

Amethyst Prime couldn't take it any longer. She reached into her Gem and pulled out her flail, the spiked ball hitting the ground wit great force. Eudialyte replied by summoning her crossbow.

"Don t even think ab .."

Before she could continue, she grabbed at her Gem and grunted in pain, she felt the crack start to worsen, as the crack grew ever so slightly deeper. This caused the pink scientist to go full berserk. Her once practical hair style now shot up and hung above her head and she pushed the goggles away from her eyes, revealing the pupils to be tiny. She kept her crossbow trained on Amethyst Prime. She was practically screaming her words now.

"Everyone in the Authority knows it, Prime! Your reckless, impulsive, you hate following orders! Your not fit to lead anymore then that Pearl that follows you around is!"

Amethyst Prime responded by raising her flail and bringing it down, where it not for a swift dodge by Eudialyte, she would have shattered the scientist. Eudialyte jumped into the air and hung by the corner of the ceiling. She fired a barrage of arrows at the Prime. While Amethyst Prime deflected the incoming fire, Eudialyte jumped from the ceiling and onto the ground. She dodged several swings of the flail and kicked the purple Gem to the ground by knocking her off her feet. The Prime rolled away to avoid more incoming arrows and got to her feet, taking another swing of the flail. Eudialyte jumped to avoid it as it took out the remainder of the desk. Eudialyte used her height in the air to take a kick to Amethyst Prime s head, which sent her staggering back, though it only stunned her as she quickly caught one of the arrows that had been fired at her in her hand and broke it in two.

"You could never be one of us!" Eudialyte shouted as she readied her crossbow with an explosive arrow. Before she could fire it however, Prime's flail struck her on the side of the face, causing her to hit the ground hard. Prime grabbed Eudialyte, who was clutching her face and brought her close to her head. Chunks of cheek were missing but were healing fast.

"You don t wanna admit it, but we re the cracking same, Eudialyte. We all have secrets, and if you don't want me blurting them to Yellow Diamond I suggest you don t ever talk of this again, do you hear me?"

She dropped Eudialyte and turned her back on her. The pink Gem picked herself up, her hair and goggles returning to their original state.

"Maybe your right, maybe we have similarities. But I'd never undermine one of my own Gems to the point of feeling worthless, unlike a certain Jasper."

The purple Prime turned on her feet and stomped back up to Eudialyte.

"And where is she now? Stuck on Earth with no means of getting back, so she proved me right all along. Now get out of my room. Now!"

Eudialyte gritted her teeth together. "We ll finish this later, Prime."

The brutish Gem's eyebrows raised. "You wanna duel this out? Lower Lustre City, tomorrow at dawn."

"Fine." Eudialyte picked up the remainder of her dignity as she swept back her hair and marched out of the room.

Yellow Diamond paced around her quarters. The sound of her heeled boots filled the large room as she was lot in thought. She passed rows or ornamental weapons and sets of armour, the spoils of war. While trying to organise the cluttered thoughts in her head, she picked up one of several egg shaped orbs that resided on the stands. What humans would call Faberge Eggs, Yellow Diamond would call a Spherical Containment Unit, a decorative prison for some of Yellow s favourite foes. Not wanting to give them the quick death of being shattered, they were fated to eternal imprisonment, their Gems encrusted into golden eggs, the perfect way for them to atone for their treachery. Elbaite, Hyalophane, Hiddenite, Xenotime. Yellow Diamond's face resembled a half smile as she placed the four prisoners trapped in the egg back on the display stand. The door controls chimed as Yellow pressed a command key on her wrist device, opening her quarters to Heliodor and Yellow Pearl.

"Progress?" The lead Diamond asked as Heliodor handed over a data pad.

"Kimberlite reports no identifiable defiance in the ranks. With the exception of Amethyst Prime, the Sphenes and my Interrogator Corps found nothing of note."

Yellow looked up from the data pad. Of course Amethyst Prime would never willingly put a lid on it , especially when something as important as an interrogation comes around.

"Amethyst Prime may be a brash, arrogant menace but she'd never think of rebelling. We only wanted to find out what she saw during the Trilliant incident. But no."

Yellow Pearl handed another data cube to Heliodor.

"This is Sphene 5D2X- 7VC s full psycho- analytical report on Amethyst Prime." Yellow took the data pad and sat at her desk, reading the hardly stellar report. "I would recommend she be relieved of command."

Yellow shook her head as she read through the report. "Given that emotions are running too high, changing up the command of the Quartz Battalions would only increase tensions in our largest division of soldiers. Now that sister White has elevated that defect Era Three Aventurine to Minor, putting her in command will only make things worse."

"Then what course of action shall we take?"

Yellow strummed her fingers on her desk. She looked at her two Gems for a few silent seconds. "Options?"

Heliodor felt her back straighten up. "There's always Anglesite."

The Diamond's eyes lowered, hovering over the data pad. She leant back in her chair and held the data pad up. "We'll need Anglesite to transmit the news of the Trilliant anyway. We can eliminate two problems. See the Pearls get to that."

"Yes my Diamond." Heliodor tried to think of her next words carefully. "Forgive me, but Anglesite will only be a temporary solution. Her voice may allow us a few days at most."

Anglesite, holographic singer of Homeworld s own creation, was a multipurpose entity. On one hand, the songs she sang contained a special code system. Through melodic patterns, Homeworld could send detailed reports without fear of interception. Transmitted through Wailing Stone, these complex signals could only be deciphered by Pearls.

Her other purpose was as a means for Homeworld to control it s population more efficiently. Lustre City, the capitol of Homeworld, where the Diamond Palace resided contained millions of Gems. They included the Gems who served the Authority, Gems who fulfilled supplementary roles and then there was the low life that lived under the surface of Lustre City. Diamond hating street rats, Blood Stones, Calcites and the likes. As a mass collective, they were fuelled by anti Diamond sentiment and were waiting for a chance to strike out.

With Anglesite, they had a way of snuffing out any insurgence before it started. Her voice was synthesised from White Diamonds, who, like all the Diamonds, possessed hypnotic powers. They manifested themselves in White s voice. Her vocal prowess had been unused since the war, hence why they were replicated into Anglesite. With this ability, Anglesite could calm Gems or stir them into a fighting spirit. The problem was however, that certain Gems began to develop an immunity. The desired effect was starting to lessen across the populace. This, Yellow Diamond knew all too well.

"A temporary solution. We can t afford a new rebellion to be born from this. Mining Colony Mandrel had the majority of their resources devoted to the Trilliant. The morale there will be terrible. The Jacinth there has her work cut out." She rubbed her forehead. Without shifting her gaze, she spoke to the other Gem in the room. "Pearl, your thoughts?"

Once again, the Pearl clammed up. Why her opinion suddenly mattered in the grand scheme of Homeworld baffled her. She d hoped it didn't. "W.. Well .. "She stuttered. "W...Why not investigate the Gems who we've conditioned since the war? If they have no leads then we wait for the real culprits to make the first move. We may loose a few Gems and have to make a sacrifice but...Well...Nothing we cannot fix surely? Then we can stop them before they inflict anymore damage."

Helidor stared at Yellow Pearl while Yellow Diamond looked up at her. She then turned to Heliodor. "Who are the Gems who have been conditioned?"

Heliodor quickly accessed a data pad and after a few seconds of retrieving data, she read off the list. "A Black Star Diopside, a Scapolite, two Tanzanites, a Cherry Quartz, an Aquamarine and an Iolite."

Yellow Diamond nodded as she stood up. "Get your Gems onto it Heliodor." She headed out of her office door and into the corridors of the Palace. "Call a meeting of the Authority in an hours time Pearl."

"Yes my Diamond."

The Diamond Palace sits at the end of Lustre City. In front of it, rows upon rows of tall buildings, connected by metal and glass walk ways high above the ground. Buildings included the barracks for the home guard Gems, record libraries and what is the Gem equivalent of a medical wing. Also lined up in this array are the buildings belonging to the Authority. The Carnelian Complex, a huge, red structure that houses the banks the Carnelians work in for example. But most importantly, the line of Embassies. They were run by the division heads of certain Gem types, including the Pearls and Peridots. Nacre s however, possessed a secret.

Behind a trap door in the polished white floors, a series of dark, gloomy tunnels built into the underground of Lustre City. A labyrinth where Gems that should be sent to the Refinery, defects in need of shattering and criminals thrived. Follow the tunnels far enough and you reach a hollowed out crevasse, full of these very Gems. Above the ground, a hole built into the side of the underground society, with a glass wall. Inside, a dark red room light dimly with red lights. A table seating several Gems was in the centre, with the leader at the head of the table.

This was the council of the leaders of the underground, the Five Pearls. At the head of the table, Mystic Black Pearl. She was stern faced, a deep scar slashed across her face. Her black hair was messy and long, her eyes were as black as her hair and was filled with malice. Sat around her, Mystic Black Pearl s number two, Baroque Pearl. Her skin was shiny and ranged in colour between off white, grey and sand coloured. Her grey hair was cut short and her outfit consisted of a black dress, straps covering her body and a pair of plain black shorts. Mabe Pearl had pearlescent skin which changed colour in the light, as did her cropped short hair and she wore a simple grey all in one suit. The penultimate member of the council was Keshi Pearl, a member of a vein of Pearls often discarded immediately (or so Homeworld thought) due to their malformed shape. Her appearance seemed to reflect it, with a large shard like Pearl in her neck, while her teal hair was filled with tangled knots and her outfit consisted of a scrappy dress and nothing else. Cave Pearl was the final member, who was considerably bulkier then her fellow Pearls, with muscles to match a Quartz soldier. Her head was closely shaved and almost devoid of hair while she wore a tight fitting top with the sleeves ripped off in a uniform black. Five bitter Pearls who watched over the whole of the Underground. With thousands of rejects, criminals and defective Gems living in the dark, their job was hardly a desirable one, but still, it was one fuelled by thousands of years of hatred for the Diamonds and their Authority. Nacre was not looking forward to speaking to them.

The door to the council chambers opened and Nacre slowly entered, welcomed by the probing gaze of five of her Pearls she viewed as special in the past. Despite their hate for everything the society she lived in and stood for, she still respected them dearly. They had succeeded in thriving where many Gems would not, and Gems as seemingly fragile as Pearls, being in a position of such influence as they were, she couldn t help but admire them. She gave a small bow to Mystic Black Pearl, a mark of respect, which was met with a nod from the Pearl.

"I have to admit, Matron Nacre, it s pretty brave of you to come here." She nodded to the glass wall overlooking the dingy underground. "Many a Gem out there would give up their facets to get a pot shot at a member of the Diamond Authority."

Nacre didn't show much of any sort of reaction to that, instead she remained calm and collected. "Which is why I have decided to pay you a visit."

There was a shimmer of white from Baroque Pearl as she let out a small growl, her teeth on show. "You d best not hang around, Matron. Gems will start asking questions. You may be missed up top if you hang around too long." Wow, that almost seemed like a threat. Once again, Nacre wasn't phased.

"So go on then." Called out Cave Pearl, a clenched fist on show on the table. "Why are you here?"

Nacre kept her gaze fixed on Mystic. "I want to know if you, or any of the Gems under your watch, had anything to do with the destruction of the Trilliant."

Baroque immediately got to her feet, looking positively enraged. Mystic grabbed her by the arm, shaking her head. This calmed the defect down as she sat back down.

Mabe spoke up next, a dreary tone was oozing from her voice. "What makes you think we had anything to do with it?"

Nacre was actually trying to shake off some fond nostalgia regarding the council, how they were all so small and afraid when she saved them and brought them down here. Now centuries of living in the dark has made them tired of the crack Homeworld spouting. "I do not mean to imply..."

"Well you did." Came the response, this time from Keshi, who seldom spoke.

Mystic spoke next. "We know what happened to that monstrosity of yours, word travels fast around here. No one left to go to the surface that night. No one leaves without our permission."

"Remember, we're the only ones who can grant access to the surface anyway, otherwise you d have an onslaught of undesirables on your hands, Matron." Baroque continued.

"I see. Well, thank you for your honesty." Nacre was about to turn on her heels but she stopped when she saw Mystic stand up.

"Nacre, you spared our lives from being shattered. Defects like us wouldn't have seen our second days if it wasn't for that. For that, we ll always be grateful. Don t take our resentment as hate for you, just the society you live in."

Nacre nodded slowly. "I understand, and I am still glad I took you all from Lustre City. I am very proud of you all, you've done so well to thrive here."

Mystic remained silent but she didn t need to say anything, Nacre could tell how she felt. "Now you'd better get going, you don't want anyone down here seeing you. Let s just say they won't take kindly to your presence."

She bowed to Mystic fire and walked through the door, leaving the Council's gaze. She stopped out of the door, just being able to hear them conversing behind the door. She may not have found any leads on the Trilliant disaster, but it made her feel good to learn her Pearls were thriving. Pride wasn't the word she was looking for, there was more inside her now.


End file.
